The Royal Gazette/Bermuda Stock Exchange Index gained 16.66 points yesterday to close at 3,806.49 in light trading.

Bank stocks led the Exchange yesterday as Butterfield Bank rose 25 cents to close at $45.75 on volume of 420 shares and Bermuda Commercial Bank rose 50 cents to close at $9.00 as investors traded in 3,300 shares.

The only issue to change price was Bermuda Aviation Services gaining 12 cents to close at $5.95 on volume of 440 shares.

Both Butterfield and BAS announced strong earnings results on Tuesday.

The total value of the shares traded on the BSX yesterday was $51,533.00 and the overall volume of shares was 4,160.

Bermuda insurance stocks closed strongly, with Axis Capital Holdings jumping 5.93 percent to $28.60 after releasing its results on Tuesday and telling analysts that recent capital raising would not dilute the value of shares.